Apple & Ikea launching an #AR app that lets you virtually try out furniture in your home — then buy it https://t.co/WUkeOId1mT
— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) June 20, 2017
On 06/19/2017,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), corporate / business world, innovation, user experience (UX), vendors,
by Daniel Christian
On 06/15/2017,
in attention, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Facebook / Meta Platforms, innovation, library / librarians, society, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, United States, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning,
by Daniel Christian
Oculus Education Pilot Kicks Off in 90 California Libraries — from oculus.com
Excerpt:
Books, like VR, open the door to new possibilities and let us experience worlds that would otherwise be beyond reach. Today, we’re excited to bring the two together through a new partnership with the California State Library. This pilot program will place 100 Rifts and Oculus Ready PCs in 90 libraries throughout the state, letting even more people step inside VR and see themselves as part of the revolution.
“It’s pretty cool to imagine how many people will try VR for the very first time—and have that ‘wow’ moment—in their local libraries,” says Oculus Education Program Manager Cindy Ball. “We hope early access will cause many people to feel excited and empowered to move beyond just experiencing VR and open their minds to the possibility of one day joining the industry.”
Also see:
Oculus Brings Rift to 90 Libraries in California for Public Access VR — from roadtovr.com by Dominic Brennan
Excerpt:
Oculus has announced a pilot program to place 100 Rifts and Oculus Ready PCs in 90 libraries throughout the state of California, from the Oregon border down to Mexico. Detailed on the Oculus Blog, the new partnership with the California State Library hopes to highlight the educational potential of VR, as well as provide easy access to VR hardware within the heart of local communities.
“Public libraries provide safe, supportive environments that are available and welcoming to everyone,” says Oculus Education Program Manager Cindy Ball. “They help level the playing field by providing educational opportunities and access to technology that may not be readily available in the community households. Libraries share the love—at scale.”
On 06/06/2017,
in communications, Daniel S. Christian, emerging technologies, experimentation, face-to-face, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, immersion, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, more voice more choice more control, society, student-related, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC — in regards to the below item involving Intel:
In the future, will we be able to bring remote students into our face-to-face-based classrooms using technologies similar to what Intel is working on? If so, that would offer some serious opportunities for learners worldwide. More choice, more control.
How Intel is using VR to try to change sports viewing now and into the future — from fastcompany.com by Daniel Terdiman
The tech giant has grand ambitions, and thinks that fully immersive live sports is the key to giving fans what they want–someday.
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
There are hundreds of millions, if not billions, of passionate sports fans around the world. And yet, according to Intel, no more than 1% of those people will ever get to see their favorite team in person.
That massive experience gap is at the center of Intel’s ambitious live-sports virtual reality efforts, a series of initiatives that over the next couple of years should solidify the company’s “as if you’re there” philosophy about sports, said Jeff Hopper, the business strategy lead at Intel Sports Group.
In the short term, those efforts will focus on single-user, individual experiences. But over time, Intel plans on making it possible for fans to be right in the middle of their favorite team’s action, create personalized 3D highlights, and share them with friends.
…
Fans watching the games—via Intel’s True VR app on Samsung’s Gear VR headset—will be able to choose from multiple camera angles around a stadium, each of which will give them a wide, immersive view of the action.
On 06/05/2017,
in 21st century, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, educational games / serious games, Facebook / Meta Platforms, global / globalization, Google, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), India, innovation, intelligent systems, interactivity, internet, media/film, mobile technologies, platforms, social media, society, tools, user experience (UX), vendors, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, wearables,
by Daniel Christian
2017 Internet Trends Report — from kpcb.com by Mary Meeker
Mary Meeker’s 2017 internet trends report: All the slides, plus analysis — from recode.net by Rani Molla
The most anticipated slide deck of the year is here.
Excerpt:
Here are some of our takeaways:
- Global smartphone growth is slowing: Smartphone shipments grew 3 percent year over year last year, versus 10 percent the year before. This is in addition to continued slowing internet growth, which Meeker discussed last year.
- Voice is beginning to replace typing in online queries. Twenty percent of mobile queries were made via voice in 2016, while accuracy is now about 95 percent.
- In 10 years, Netflix went from 0 to more than 30 percent of home entertainment revenue in the U.S. This is happening while TV viewership continues to decline.
- China remains a fascinating market, with huge growth in mobile services and payments and services like on-demand bike sharing. (More here: The highlights of Meeker’s China slides.)
Read Mary Meeker’s essential 2017 Internet Trends report — from techcrunch.com by Josh Constine
Excerpt:
This is the best way to get up to speed on everything going on in tech. Kleiner Perkins venture partner Mary Meeker’s annual Internet Trends report is essentially the state of the union for the technology industry. The widely anticipated slide deck compiles the most informative research on what’s getting funded, how Internet adoption is progressing, which interfaces are resonating, and what will be big next.
You can check out the 2017 report embedded below, and here’s last year’s report for reference.
On 06/04/2017,
in Augmented Reality (AR), business, corporate / business world, human-computer interaction (HCI), society, trends, user experience (UX), vendors,
by Daniel Christian
AR Menus Are Changing The Way We Order Food — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick
Outlook for Augmented & Mixed Reality Remains Favorable — from next.reality.news by Tommy Palladino
Excerpt:
With many of the companies working in augmented and mixed reality focused on the Augmented World Expo, the finance side of the industry has been relatively quiet.
However, a pair of reports today signal that investors should remain happy for the foreseeable future. Both reports are available for purchase by those with the considerable means to do so.
…
Zion Market Research has compiled a report that projects the augmented reality market will grow to $133.78 billion by 2021.
The report, which we’ll abridge to “Augmented Reality (AR) Market…2015-2021” for brevity’s sake, measures the market’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) at 85.2 percent annually.
The market, which was valued at $3.33 billion in 2015, is comprised of hardware and components, such as sensors and displays, as well as software.
The Augmented World Expo proves AR isn’t ready for prime time, but it’s still pretty cool — from digitaltrends.com by Christian de Looper
Excerpt:
At the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Santa Clara, VR and AR companies showed off their latest and greatest products. Despite the numerous gadgets, and the huge growth we’ve seen from AWE since last year, our major takeaway is unfortunately a little pessimistic. It looks like AR isn’t going to hit mainstream audiences for quite some time. But there are plenty of groundbreaking AR and VR technologies that keep the field exciting, many of which made appearances at the show. Let’s take a look.
…
ZAPPAR IS DEMOCRATIZING AR
While AR technology is slowly but surely improving, it’s largely still irrelevant to the average consumer. One company, however is hoping to change that by doing for AR what Google Cardboard did for VR. The company is Zappar, and it actually launched on Kickstarter at the end of last year, raking in a hefty $84,356 — far more than its $30,000 funding goal.
ZapBox is an affordable yet effective way to experience AR. The package comes in at $30, and includes a cardboard headset with a slot for your phone’s camera, as well as an attachable lens adapter that basically increases the field-of-view of the camera, which is an important thing to note. It also comes with two controllers built from Cardboard, which the software can recognize as long as the controllers are in the view of the camera.
…
Augmented reality is a long way off from being consumer-ready, but it’s clear that there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes. Augmented World Expo is bigger every year — and in five years time it could be a totally different show. Until then, well, we’ll just have to settle for these cool-yet-niche advancements.
HoloKit is like Google Cardboard for augmented reality — from techcrunch.com by Devin Coldewey
Excerpt:
The revelation behind Google Cardboard was that if you put your phone close enough to your eyes, it’s basically a VR headset — but it’s not quite that simple for mixed reality setups like Microsoft’s HoloLens. Or is it? HoloKit is an extremely clever DIY solution for a quick and dirty augmented reality experience with a bare minimum of equipment.
The idea is really quite simple: Instead of a costly projection system, a pair of mirrors reflects the display of a smartphone onto an angled, semi-transparent Fresnel lens — so you see both the image and the world behind it. Meanwhile, the phone is in position to use its camera and sensors to track the world in front of you.
The Vive Is Finally Complete With This Deluxe Audio Strap — from vrscout.com by Jonathan Nafarrete
Excerpt:
Set to launch on June 6th for the price of $100, the Deluxe Audio Strap doesn’t just add headphones to your Vive headset, but dramatically improves the comfort and experience across the board.
On 05/18/2017,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, computer science, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, disruption, education technology, emerging technologies, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, mobile learning, mobile technologies, Natural Language Processing (NLP), platforms, programming, society, streams of content, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, ubiquitous learning, universities, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, youth,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
There are now more than 12,000+ skills on Amazon’s new platform — Alexa. I continue to wonder…what will this new platform mean/deliver to societies throughout the globe?
From this Alexa Skills Kit page:
What Is an Alexa Skill?
Alexa is Amazon’s voice service and the brain behind millions of devices including Amazon Echo. Alexa provides capabilities, or skills, that enable customers to create a more personalized experience. There are now more than 12,000 skills from companies like Starbucks, Uber, and Capital One as well as innovative designers and developers.
What Is the Alexa Skills Kit?
With the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK), designers, developers, and brands can build engaging skills and reach millions of customers. ASK is a collection of self-service APIs, tools, documentation, and code samples that makes it fast and easy for you to add skills to Alexa. With ASK, you can leverage Amazon’s knowledge and pioneering work in the field of voice design.
You can build and host most skills for free using Amazon Web Services (AWS).
On 05/15/2017,
in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, digital learning, digital video, education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, tools, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning,
by Daniel Christian
The EON Creator AVR Enterprise and Education content builder empowers non-technical users to create compelling AR and VR applications in minutes, not weeks.
ENTERPRISE
With no programming required, EON Creator AVR Enterprise empowers workers to accelerate learning and improve performance, safety, and efficiency in the workplace.
EDUCATION
Teachers and students can create, experience, and share AVR learning applications with EON Creator AVR and quickly add them to their current classroom, seamlessly.
Also see:
Also see:
On 05/12/2017,
in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, convergence, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future, future of higher education, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, K-12 related, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multimedia, online learning, online media, universities, user experience (UX), virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
A classroom of the future perhaps? These graphics depict VR-based chats/talk shows from @guntersuniverse
On 05/09/2017,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, disruption, distance education, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, microlearning, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, music, Natural Language Processing (NLP), new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, smart classrooms, streams of content, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, tools, trends, TVs, user experience (UX), vendors, virtual tutoring, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Amazon introduces Echo Show
The description reads:
- Echo Show brings you everything you love about Alexa, and now she can show you things. Watch video flash briefings and YouTube, see music lyrics, security cameras, photos, weather forecasts, to-do and shopping lists, and more. All hands-free—just ask.
- Introducing a new way to be together. Make hands-free video calls to friends and family who have an Echo Show or the Alexa App, and make voice calls to anyone who has an Echo or Echo Dot.
- See lyrics on-screen with Amazon Music. Just ask to play a song, artist or genre, and stream over Wi-Fi. Also, stream music on Pandora, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, and more.
- Powerful, room-filling speakers with Dolby processing for crisp vocals and extended bass response
- Ask Alexa to show you the front door or monitor the baby’s room with compatible cameras from Ring and Arlo. Turn on lights, control thermostats and more with WeMo, Philips Hue, ecobee, and other compatible smart home devices.
- With eight microphones, beam-forming technology, and noise cancellation, Echo Show hears you from any direction—even while music is playing
- Always getting smarter and adding new features, plus thousands of skills like Uber, Jeopardy!, Allrecipes, CNN, and more
From DSC:
Now we’re seeing a major competition between the heavy-hitters to own one’s living room, kitchen, and more. Voice controlled artificial intelligence. But now, add the ability to show videos, text, graphics, and more. Play music. Control the lights and the thermostat. Communicate with others via hands-free video calls.
Hmmm….very interesting times indeed.
Developers and corporates released 4,000 new skills for the voice assistant in just the last quarter. (source)
…with the company adding about 100 skills per day. (source)
![The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV](http://danielschristian.com/learning-ecosystems/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/The-Living-Class-Room-Daniel-S-Christian-July-2012.jpg)
Addendum on 5/10/17:
- Everything You Need to Know About Amazon’s New Echo Show Alexa-Enabled Touch Screen Device — from medium.com
Excerpts:- A touchscreen
- Video calling / intercom
- Music player
- News / Video player
- Cameras
- Skills / Apps
- Shopping
On 05/06/2017,
in 21st century, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assistive technologies, digital audio, emerging technologies, future, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, legislatures / government / legal, society, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, trends, user experience (UX), vendors, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
This type of technology could be good, or it could be bad…or, like many technologies, it could be both — depends upon how it’s used. The resources below mention some positive applications, but also some troubling applications.
Lyrebird claims it can recreate any voice using just one minute of sample audio — from theverge.com by James Vincent
The results aren’t 100 percent convincing, but it’s a sign of things to come
Excerpt:
Artificial intelligence is making human speech as malleable and replicable as pixels. Today, a Canadian AI startup named Lyrebird unveiled its first product: a set of algorithms the company claims can clone anyone’s voice by listening to just a single minute of sample audio.
Also see:
Imitating people’s speech patterns precisely could bring trouble — from economist.com by
You took the words right out of my mouth
Excerpt:
UTTER 160 or so French or English phrases into a phone app developed by CandyVoice, a new Parisian company, and the app’s software will reassemble tiny slices of those sounds to enunciate, in a plausible simulacrum of your own dulcet tones, whatever typed words it is subsequently fed. In effect, the app has cloned your voice. The result still sounds a little synthetic but CandyVoice’s boss, Jean-Luc Crébouw, reckons advances in the firm’s algorithms will render it increasingly natural. Similar software for English and four widely spoken Indian languages, developed under the name of Festvox, by Carnegie Mellon University’s Language Technologies Institute, is also available. And Baidu, a Chinese internet giant, says it has software that needs only 50 sentences to simulate a person’s voice.
Until recently, voice cloning—or voice banking, as it was then known—was a bespoke industry which served those at risk of losing the power of speech to cancer or surgery.
…
More troubling, any voice—including that of a stranger—can be cloned if decent recordings are available on YouTube or elsewhere. Researchers at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, led by Nitesh Saxena, were able to use Festvox to clone voices based on only five minutes of speech retrieved online. When tested against voice-biometrics software like that used by many banks to block unauthorised access to accounts, more than 80% of the fake voices tricked the computer.
Per Candyvoice.com:
Expert in digital voice processing, CandyVoice offers software to facilitate and improve vocal communication between people and communicating objects. With applications in:
Health
Customize your devices of augmentative and alternative vocal communication by integrating in them your users’ personal vocal model
Robots & Communicating objects
Improve communication with robots through voice conversion, customized TTS, and noise filtering
Video games
Enhance the gaming experience by integrating vocal conversion of character’s voice in real time, and the TTS customizing
Also related:
From DSC:
Given this type of technology, what’s to keep someone from cloning a voice, putting together whatever you wanted that person to say, and then making it appear that Alexa recorded that other person’s voice?